How many times a week do you think you should see your horse?

Only on race days through the binoculars, then in the winners enclosure for photos :-D

Only joking the only thing my cob races for is his feed, and i see him once a day as he lives out on part livery, so all the horses are kept an eye on throughout the day.
 
I'm on diy livery so twice a day, I really don't see the point tbh with full livery if you don't deal to your own horse you might as well go to a riding school once a week. If I had to put mine on full livery I'd sell up, wouldn't see the point as to me it's not real horse ownership
 
if i cant check them someone else defiantly does a friend on the yard feeds them in the morning and checks them over then if it warms up i go up before college and take their rugs off and then i go down in the evening and the same happens when im at work too except my step-dad does them for me, i wouldnt leave them with no checking at all how do you know whats happening and mine are fed twice a day anyway :) so they are checked 3 times a day usually unless its summer when they have no rugs then they are just checked twice :)
 
I'm another one that sees mine twice a day.....I could pay for someone to turn her out for me (it would probably be cheaper than the fuel to get there lol) but I like seeing her in the mornings, it means by the time I get to work I am 1. Awake and 2. In a better mood than I would be straight from home :-)
 
My boy is on part livery 20+miles from my house so I see him 3-4 times a week. I know that I can trust my YO 100% so I'm content with the arrangement knowing that's he's happy there even if I would like to see more of him!
 
Some people work shifts which mean that although they can ride their horse they can't always be there at a reasonable time to feed etc. I want my horse to have a routine hence full livery. I hunt and compete him. Could I do that at a riding school? What a load of rubbish!!
 
Copperpot, although I chose not to take the bait with t*atsmygirl's comment, I am relieved that I wasn't the only one to have noticed her interesting views on full livery ;)
 
Ha ha Get to the Point :) I can see me going to the riding school 5 days a week and being allowed to XC and hunt their horses! It would be an ideal arrangement ;)
 
I've always had mine diy & love doing the daily stuff. If I won euro millions, I wouldn't even have a groom I enjoy it so much. But I don't think that makes me a better owner than someone who's on full. Does the horse really care who mucks it out?
As for going to a riding school, if you could point me in the direction of one that will keep a top class horse that I can compete affiliated I'd be really grateful. Can't afford to run one myself, but if I can borrow one at wkend to event & hunt that would be great!
 
Until recently I have always had my horses at home or on a private yard so I saw them at least twice a day. Now unfortunately I can't afford them anymore so put them out on loan which went wrong for both of them.

One pony is currently at my friends house and I've seen him twice in the few months and the other is on "full" grass livery as I had to weigh up costs of livery v private yard/field and petrol to get there. The yard won out and I see her about nce/twice a week but I know she is being looked after and I don't need to worry about her.

I would absolutely love to be able to see both of them everyday as I miss them so much, I used to spend at least 4/5 hours with them during the week and the whole day at the weekends and just enjoyed our time together so much.
 
Exactly LittleLegs :) I don't see that because I choose not to muck my horse out at 1am on my way to work that means I should sell him. I want to be safe in the knowledge that he is happy, fed and warm and this way I can be.
 
i like to see mine at least twice a day.. can only just bare leaving others to look after when i'm away. couldn't not see them if i'm about.
 
In winter we see them twice a day, but in summer when they are out 24/7 we see them once a day, and if we cant make it then gran lives next door so she can make sure they're alright.
 
I have my horse on full livery but I try and see him every day. Sometimes that is at 9/10pm for a carrot and a scratch, but I feel very lost if I haven't seen him!

It's not unusual for me to ride at the crack of dawn and still go up in the evening ;)
 
i see mine once aday in the evening he now gets checked and fed in the mornings by friend friend because he is with her horses and she does them twice aday.

this may sound a bit rude but why have a horse if it is on full livery and you only see it once a week. surely it would be nicer to just have a part loan or something. and if it is a case of them along way away i would rather pay the extra livery money on petrol and get up earlier in the morning to go and see them. :confused::o correct me if you think i'm, wrong this isn't meant as a dig or to be horrible
 
Mine are currently at home so I see them mostly all day, every day! However I'm moving house into a town and putting them on part livery (will be a shock to the system!) due to child/work commitments. Plan to go up mon-fri every afternoon to ride so will end up bringing in and sorting them out for the night anyway. So in the end may turn into assisted DIY lol! Will hope to see them one day at the weekend for a quick brush and a treat with my daughter.
 
Horsey mad Matt- people have their horses on full livery, as opposed to diy for many good reasons. The reason they buy instead of finding a share is for the same reasons anyone wants their own. Do you really think all the top riders do every aspect of daily care themselves?
 
Horsey mad Matt- people have their horses on full livery, as opposed to diy for many good reasons. The reason they buy instead of finding a share is for the same reasons anyone wants their own. Do you really think all the top riders do every aspect of daily care themselves?

i suppose not, but if you are only seeing a horse once a week is it really fair on the horse. i can understand if you are seeing the horse more than once :confused:
 
Matt although I see mine at least 4 times a week to ride, sometimes more, the reason he is on full livery is that I work shifts and start anytime between 2am and 11.30 pm. I don't feel it's fair on him to be fed and turned out at 1am or brought in at say 11pm when I finish work, depending what shift I'm on. This way I know he is fed, turns out etc at an acceptable time and the same for bringing in. It also means the little time I do have spare I can devote to riding him etc. I do groom him etc but if I don't come up for whatever reason the yard will groom him and lunge him for me. Sorry for long reply :)
 
I've worked on yards where some owners only see their horse every few weeks. It's entirely fair on the horse imo, they received the best of care & in that scenario had a very close bond with the grooms. I've seen a lot of horrors committed on diy yards by idiot owners though.
 
Pinto is on full livery. I usually see him every day even if it is just for a quick scratch and carrot feeding. When I'm busy at work I often work 12-16 hour days for days at a time, and I don't physically have time to muck out twice a day, therefore I pay someone else to do it.

Just because I don't do the physical work, doesn't mean I love my horse any less.

Believe me, if my job allowed me the time to do stable chores I'd blummin' well do them.

But the fact is, my very demanding job allows me to have my horses in the first place, so I'm not going to complain too hard about it!
 
Daily or why bother?

How does it make you feel when your horse greets you? Or you have achieved something together? Or is just there for you when you feel down?

Why should it be any different for someone who can't see their horse as regularly as they'd like? :)
 
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